This game is available on the PlayStation3 and Xbox 360 platforms, and thus far the reviews seem to be good.  People are give an average score of 8-8.1 out of 10.  I have to confess, I haven’t played it, and I have no intention of doing so — well, probably, who knows.  I’m just generally not into the whole samurai bit.  Why write about this game, then?  A question, really.

Most big name stars — A list, B list, mostly — have at least one video game voiceover over on the IMDB credits list.  Some of them are understandable.  I mean, I bought the LOTR games just because Elijah Wood’s voice is in them, omg!  But is it possible, even just a little, that some of these games have big celebrity voiceovers just as a way to fool some of us gamers into thinking it has to be an awesome game, even if it’s not?  Discuss pls.  Kthxbye.

So … this is not going to be about standard gaming news.  I have recently gotten into PC games – not WoW or things like that, but the kinds of games you can find on places like BigFish and iWin.  Two titles stand out, each of them with two games in their series’.

First up is Jojo’s Fashion Show, parts 1 and 2.  This is known as a time management game.  I played the first one for hours upon hours.  Basically, you get to go through a succession of fashion shows, wherein you match clothing to the style of each model.  It begins with Bollywood and Sockhop styles; in later levels you get to deal with everything from Disco, Bridal, Goth, and even Flamenco Punk.

In part 2, all the antes are upped.  There are few repeat fashions, so you get to deal with a whole new world of styles and awesome clothing.  Furthermore, you get to dress male models as well, and participate in photo shoots.

Part 1 features Jojo and her daughter Ros.  Jojo is returning to the fashion world years after her assistant and protégé, the game’s villain, stole her designs.  With her daughter’s edgy sense of fashion and well timed help, naturally she rises to the top again.  Part 2 features new characters and a new storyline: this time Jojo and Ros are teamed up, forming Las Cruces.  But will Ros’s trendy style be able to mesh with Jojo’s classic elegance?

Stay tuned next week when we take a look at Home Sweet Home – and then, I promise, we’ll get back to some gory games!

It’s been a twenty-year wait, and in the end, is the returning thing still recognizable?

Compare. Above is the package illustration for the original Bionic Commando, which I played in my youth. He’s a clean-cut kind of super-agent with a funky stretchable bionic grappling-arm-hook-thing.

These are screenshots from the new version. Dreadlocks, really? An not a bionic stretchy thing in sight.

It’s interesting to me that the PC game version of the latest Narnia film, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” is being released before the film actually comes out in theaters.

Could it be that the publisher expects demand to be so great that players will want their Prince Caspian fix any which way they can get it? Or is this just another one of those throwaway obligatory movie-to-game ports that no one cares about?

Pictured above is a possible before-and-after shot of Kid Icarus, if the rumors pan out.

It seems the game’s possible developer, Factor 5, will be pitching a Nintendo Wii remake of the classic NES platform game. That would be mind-blowing–especially considering Kid Icarus has been around longer than many gamers! NES fans will certainly feel their age when all the younger gamers mistake Icarus for a new character.

Nintendo will most likely reveal all at the upcoming E3.

 It’s about time we had something other than dragons and spaceships to populate our MMORPG gaming worlds.

Recent trends have increased the viability of online games featuring Asian, particularly Chinese, historical characters and gameplay elements. Hollywood is partly the reason for this, with box-office hits like “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon:, “Hero” and the recent “The Forbidden Kingdom” paving the way for mainstream acceptance of Ancient China into the popular imagination.

There was the Korean-made “Chang Chun” online multiplayer game last year,  Neowiz Games’ “Warlord”, and now the just-announced “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”. And analysts say the trend has yet to plateau, so watch out for more news in the future.